GEORGE  LOCKHART  RIVES 


GEORGE  LOCKHART  RIVES 
President  of  The  New  York  Public  Library 


GEORGE  LOCKHART  RIVES 


THE  HON.  GEORGE  LOCKHART  RIVES,  President  of  The  New 
York  Public  Library,  died  at  his  summer  home  in  Newport,  August 
18,  1917. 

Mr.  Rives  was  elected  a  trustee  of  the  Astor  Library  in  1883.  He 
filled  this  office  until  he  offered  his  resignation  in  1888,  in  order  to  move 
to  Washington  as  Assistant  Secretary  of  State.  In  1893  he  was  elected  a 
trustee  of  the  Lenox  Library,  and,  as  such,  became  a  member  of  the  new 
Board  of  Trustees  of  The  New  York  Public  Library.  He  was  Secretary 
of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  Library  from  its  organization  in  May, 
1895,  until  his  resignation  in  1902,  when  he  was  appointed  Corporation 
Counsel  of  the  City  of  New  York.  He  continued  his  membership  of  the 
Board,  however,  and  became  successively  Second  Vice-President  and  First 
Vice-President.  Following  the  death  of  Mr.  Cadwalader,  he  was  elected 
President  on  May  13,  1914. 

It  is  difficult  to  describe  adequately  the  importance  of  Mr.  Rives' 
services  in  the  creation  and  development  of  the  Public  Library.  The 
working  out  of  the  scheme  for  the  consolidation  of  the  three  constituent 
corporations  was  a  complicated  task.  So  also  was  the  adjustment  of  the 
various  relations  between  the  Library  and  the  City,  both  with  reference 
to  the  construction  and  operation  of  the  central  building  and  the  establish- 
ment and  maintenance  of  the  many  circulation  branches.  When  these 
had  been  arranged,  the  development  of  the  institution  in  such  a  way  as  to 
meet  the  growing  needs  of  the  public  required  and  still  requires  most 
careful  attention.  In  all  of  this  Mr.  Rives  gave  his  best  and  constant 
effort,  and  the  results  that  have  been  accomplished  bear  the  unfading 
mark  of  his  able  and  devoted  participation. 

Mr.  Rives  was  an  honorary  Doctor  of  Laws  of  both  Amherst  and 
Princeton,  a  Governor  and  former  President  of  the  New  York  Hospital 
and  a  member  of  the  American  Academy  of  Arts  and  Letters.  His  most 
important  published  work  was  his  two-volume  history,  "United  States 
and  Mexico,  1821  to  1848." 

The  New  York  Sun,  on  August  22,  1917,  published  in  its  editorial 
columns  an  estimate  of  Mr.  Rives'  services,  which  was  in  part  as  follows: 

In  Newport  this  morning  the  burial  service  will  be  read  over  the  body  of  a  citizen 
whom  New  York  can  ill  afford  to  lose. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2014 


https://archive.org/details/georgelockhartriOOnewy 


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